Khamsa
by Tusk Act IV
Summary: A girl from the future arrives claiming to be the daughter of Uesugi Fuutarou and a Nakano sister. The problem is she doesn't remember which of the Quintuplets is her mother! Unrelated Cover Art by Feebling.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own neither the series nor the characters.**

**I'm also not a master on how one person addresses another yet so please forgive me if I screw up somewhere though I know it's important to the series.**

* * *

It all began with a small noise, softer than even a buzzing of a bee.

It was supposed to be just another day at the Nakano residence. No, actually it was an obviously special day.

For once in a long time, all five siblings were gathered together around their table, doing different exercises from different classes. Their tutor had left them some exercises to do as he was busy studying for the mock exam. He said he'd try to swing by later so the girls made sure to finish before he arrived.

At this point, with how much there was still left, that seemed like a nice wish.

It was Yotsuba who noticed first. Her rabbit ear like ribbons even twitched as she looked up from her paper, hearing an odd sound. "Do you guys hear that?"

More wanting to take a break than actual interest, Itsuki humored her sister. "Hear what?"

"That." Unfortunately, she forgot it was Yotsuba. "There's static!"

"Static?" Miku too looked up. She was about to ask Yotsuba to elaborate when whatever Yotsuba had initially heard was increased tenfold as now it was like there was a jet engine in the room. "Wha-"

"What is that!?" Nino's sudden scream interrupted her sister, one nail polished finger pointing above the table. All sisters looked up to see what looked to be a white bubble that was sucking in air around it. Even the papers around them were being sucked in.

"Everyone get back!" Ichika's scream over the loud suction noise reached her sisters as all of them moved away from the table, partly in caution and partly in fear.

They could only watch in awe as the bubble grew larger and larger, the noise it made increasing along with it to the point some of them were putting their hands over their ears. When it finally reached the size of a small child, the bubble stopped along with the noise. Instead, it started to glow, increasing its intensity slowly until it was as if there was firecracker in front of them.

They all closed their eyes in reflex, the light too bright and daring to burn their retinas. Eventually, the light seemingly faded and all five opened their eyelids once more only to find a sight that left them all speechless.

In the air, was a girl with long dark flowing hair and a white dress. She couldn't have been older than thirteen. Her eyes were closed as if she was lying on the air itself. However, that illusion soon broke as gravity took a hand and she fell on the table with a thud.

Slowly, all five sisters surrounded the girl, questions flirting through their heads. They all looked over her, their bodies blocking the light. It was as if they had all travelled back in time. The girl before them wasn't just beautiful, she was familiar. If it wasn't for the girl's dark hair, she could have easily passed for any of them in their youth.

Dark blue eyes flitted open, cemeting the illusion of a dark haired sixth Nakano sister and yet sister was the last thing from the girl's mind. Instead, as she saw red silhouettes surround her, all the girl could do was whisper who she thought she saw.

"M-mom?"

The quintuplets exchanged looks with one another as the girl's eyes closed once more.

"Mom?"

* * *

"My name is Uesugi Mutsumi." was how the girl introduced herself. She sat before the Quintuplets, the look in her eyes strong yet couldn't hide the small amount of nervousness coursing through it. "As I may have said, I came from the future by accident thanks to one of Uncle Takeda's souvinir. I don't really know how or why though."

The idea that the girl had travelled through time widened the eyes of the sisters and yet that wasn't the detail their minds had latched on to. It wasn't that the Nakano siblings couldn't understand the paradoxes and impossiblities associated with time travel or how the girl in front of them had managed to do so. They were just simple girls, not really the type to think about such ideas. They weren't science fiction enthusiasts.

And it was exactly because they were simple girls that they only really caught on to one detail from the girl's initial introtroduction.

_Uesugi._

The sisters exchanged nervous glances with one another, unsure on how to proceed. No, it was more like, a knawing feeling had started in each of their stomachs, an odd pressure that felt scary yet almost exciting.

While all five had used to be flunkees, it didn't mean that they weren't dumb enough to see the elephant in the room that needed to be addressed.

Itsuki pointedly coughed into a closed fist. Nino sent an arbitrary glare her way. Miku, next to her, lightly elbowed her. Yotsuba just sat there, tense and unmoving.

And so it came to (or more like it was pushed on) the eldest of the sisters, Ichika to ask. She had always been the responsible one but even she knew how much sweat was rolling down the back of her neck to ask the question on all the quintuplets' minds.

Ichika licked her lips, using all her ability as an actress to sound as casual as possible when she next spoke. "So, you say you're Uesugi Mutsimi but that must mean your father is..."

"Yes. My father is Uesugi Fuutarou."

With hard eyes, Mutsumi confirmed what all five somehow already knew. And yet, even after confirming such a detail, the room only grew even more tense. It was as if a bomb had been dropped that was just waiting to detonate.

The girl before them was the personification of Pandora's box.

"H-huddle!"

At Ichika's stutter, all sisters turned their back at once and gathered pushed their heads together, their voices low.

"Do you think she's telling the truth? I mean, time travel?" Itsuki whispered. "Maybe, she's just a relative of his?"

"She doesn't really look like him or his little sister. If anything..." Miku swallowed audibly, unable to finish the sentence. There was a faint buzz in the back of her mind that she was finding hard to ignore.

"...she looks like us from back then." finished Yotsuba, her head was bowed and her gaze was stuck on her was sweating like crazy, trying to keep herself still.

"Maybe, Papa had...maybe she's our sister?" Nino bit the bottom of her lip, knowing how little what she said made sense. That girl looked nothing like either of their fathers. Besides, their mother had passed on and was who they got their looks. "This isn't making sense. What about a blood test?"

"Those are expensive." replied Ichika with a shake of her head. "Unless...you want to go to father about this. But on the off chance that this girl is telling the truth..."

All five shuddered at once.

They all glanced back to the small girl who shuffled awkwardly under their gazes. Dark blue eyes narrowed, a shadow going over them, as she averted their gaze to the side. One hand went up to play with her dark bangs over her forehead. Such a tense desperate expression was one all five knew to heart.

Such a pitiful tense face could only belong to one person and yet here it was reflected in front of them.

"That's totally him!" exclaimed-whispered Yotsuba, her mouth wide open in shock.

"It...It really is like him." Itsuki consented. Her hands shook in her lap as she tried and failed to unclench them.

"Maybe...she's just that good an actress?"

Miku narrowed her eyes at what Ichika said. It seemed that lines were starting to focus. "...what are you saying, Ichika?"

"N-nothing!" denied the eldest sister, feeling her face slightly heat up. She didn't mean to imply _that_...right? _That_ hadn't been adressed yet. A thought that none of the sisters had put up no matter how more and more obvious it was becoming. Still,

"We shouldn't jump to conclusions!"

"...And what conclusion could you be talking about?" was the small murmur that came from Nino. To Ichika's dismay, the second sister hadn't taken her eyes of Mutsumi. She could practically see the gears turning in Nino's head.

The Nino express looked ready to leave the platform and would drag the rest of them with her although it felt like everyone else were there as well with how tense their small hurdle had become.

It seemed that there was no way to ignore the elephant any longer. The girl who had looked like she had come straight out of the past yet claimed was from the future.

"""""Let's ask her."""""

Five voices spoke up to the four next to them. Unsure, scared, curious, nervous, and hopeful sets of eyes stared back at each other, each one finding the other four perfect reflections of thier own.

There was no way out of this. Sooner or later, they had to know or else they all may go crazy from leaving such a thing unquestioned.

Such simultaneous desire was impossible for anyone but these five even if four then landed on one, the clear message of "We'll leave it to you!" obvious.

The one, Ichika, couldn't help but sigh inwardly as they all turned back to the girl in front of them. Seeing that the attention was back to her, Mutsumi immediately straightened up, her back straight and eyes hard.

The image was just so odd, as if someone had stuck their tutor's face on their younger body besides the two small tufts of dark hair sticking out on the top of her heda.

Ichika swallowed, already feeling light headed. She didn't think her heart could take hearing the answer to the question on her lips yet also not be able to take her waiting this out.

Still, she tried to relax, imagine herself as anyone but a Nanako sibling, when she stared back at eyes she had fallen in love with.

"So Mutsumi-san...you told us about your father but...what about your m-mom?"

"Her name is Nakano...Nakano..."

Five breaths were held. Ten fists were clenched.

"Huh? Why can't I remember?"

The girl held one hand to her forehead, clear distress etched on her face. Her brows scrunched together in hard concentration, her expression glaring as if she was trying to scare the information to the front of her mind.

"I know she's one of you but...I can't remember which of you she is and which of you are my four aunties. You all normally look ao alike yet it's all mixed up now."

The girl squinted her eyes together in clear strain before shaking her head, eyes oddly glassy and frighteningly sad. "M-maybe it's because I time traveled but I...I can't remember my mom. Sorry, can I use the bathroom? I think I know where it is."

Without even waiting for an affirmation, the young girl left the five sisters by themselves, already oddly familiar with the apartment. Everyone was motionless until they all heard the door shutting behind the girl.

And for a moment, a rare silence fell throughout the apartment the Nanako's all shared. Not one of them spoke, it was hard to say if any of them were breathing. Perhaps, with all the talk of time travel, time could have actually stopped in their small living space and no one noticed.

Eventually, one of them finally spoke up.

"Should we should call Uesugi-san?"

Yotsuba's sudden declaration caused the rest of the sisters to jump out of their stupor, almost literally. The girl's mouth was wobbly as she raised her hand to ask the question.

"Th-that's right," agreed Itsuki, she didn't know why she was so nervous in the first place. Her stomach hurt but she ignored it. "Maybe, she really is his younger cousin or something and he'd know..."

"And if she isn't?" Nino asked, elbow on the table and chin on her palm. Her words froze her sisters' blood yet it couldn't match the intensity of the half-lidded stare she was directing at the rest of them. "If she's really the child of Fuu-kun and..."

Nino didn't finish, trailing off to silence. She didn't need to, the blush on her face and the faraway look in her eyes speaking more than anything she could have said.

Miku shook her head at her sister's words. The image of the supposedly time travelling girl was paradoxically something that represented both her dreams and her nightmares. She was something Miku wanted to desperately deny yet accept, hug tightly yet shove away.

However, she was too much of a coward to confirm what would either capture or break her heart. So, she instead sent a silent pleading look to Ichika who actually recoiled.

"Then we'll look after her until we find a way she gets back to her own time. Family is family. It doesn't matter who her mother is." said Ichika, a smile on her face and her eyes closed. She wouldn't be able to tell such a lie to her own face, after all. Not even she would believe her words. "Family is family."

"...Yes." Miku immediately agreed, settlling down a little even if her shoulders remained rigid. "Maybe, she'd feel better seeing Fuutarou."

"Well, in the movies, its bad to learn about future information." brought up Itsuki, one finger in the air in a lecture pose. "It would probably be bad to ask her about future stuff like lotteries or how we ended up. I mean, what if one of us..."

"Fine, fine, we'll give her some space." huffed Nino, still leaning on her palm. "No need to get so grim, Itsuki."

"I didn't mean..." The star clip wearing sister tried to deny but failed. In the back of her mind, the age their mother had died flashed, one that was still considered rather young. Her lips pursed for a moment before whispering, "She did say she knew the five of us..."

"A-anyways, let's just be careful what we ask her. There's no need to rush, right? She's probably just as confused as we are." concluded Itsuki with a clap. Miku and Itsuki nodded, their expressions serious and stern respectively. Nino hummed back, ther look in her eyes faraway once more.

"It's just like that time travel movie we saw last week! I'll leave that stuff to you guys as I didn't understand it that much." Yotsuba rubbed the back of her head, mouth open yet no laughs escaping. "I'll go get some drinks then! I'm sure Mutsumi-chan is thirsty. Anyone want any?"

None of her other sisters replied, all clearly still wrapped up in whatever was in their heads. The fourth sister was thankful, needing the alone time to supress a certain emotion in her chest.

Hope.

She didn't need hope. Hope would just lead her to pain when the inevitable happened and she'd be rejected again. Hope was better left to her sisters who deserved it more. Hope was ferris wheels and swings and a future she didn't dare embrace even could be right in front of her.

"Yotsuba?"

The ribon wearing girl stopped. Two whole seconds passed before she dared to turn, hoping there was a regular smile on her face.

"Can you get me some tea?"

"Sure!"

**LINE**

* * *

The moment she entered the bathroom and locked the door behind her, Mutsumi sighed. She raised a clenched fist to her chest, her face shifting from the innocent girl that the quintuplets had met to one that belonged to someone older than her age.

She reached into her white dress to withdraw a gold locket. Opening it revealed the picture of a beautiful red-haired woman, a small smile on her face. She closed her eyes and grasped the locket in one hand as if it could fill her with some sort of strength.

_'Mom...'_

Dark blue eyes opened once more, resolution burning within them. While it was true she hadn't expected to travel to the past, she felt that she had been allowed to do so for a reason. There was no way she'd forget her memories.

To give her family a better life.

At this moment, Uesugi Mutsumi made a promise to herself that it would be her mother who would marry her father before her aunt did.

There would be no first marriage to that aunt her father had shared a kiss with under the Bell of Vows.

There would be no messy seperation because of an incident that forever drove a wedge between the Nanako sisters.

There would be no need to attend her mother's own wedding long after she had been born out of a night of regret and drunken mistakes.

And if Uesugi Mutsumi had to lie to her aunts, her father, and even her own mother, then so be it.

She'd become the biggest liar of them all.

**LINE**

* * *

**You can't do QQ/5-bon with out a mystery. Just felt like doing this after seeing that there was now an archive for these fics. The idea just sparked into my mind when I read this. I've done something simiar with Yomeiro but this and that are different.**

**And if you're wondering if I have this all planned out then you should read my other stories.**

**Unrelated thoughts on the manga that won't influence the story (spoilers for anime only folks):**

**I'm really enjoying this manga. I'm still convinced Yotsuba is playing 4D chess and hope she would win after many tiny manipulations though I think Itsuki's going to slam dunk this bowl. **

**My heart tells me Yotsuba is the one he kissed because Nino would make you know it, Itsuki still doesn't have feelings for him (probably), and Ichika wouldn't have the balls to go through with it. Yotsuba's the tragic type who would be a big enough of a cuck- I mean- coward to try to kiss him under Itsuki's disguise but just as a rare selfish moment before letting his sisters have him. **

**My brain tells me Miku as she knows (or thinks) he could distinguish her and she's had a good amount of flags. Or just Itsuki because she's Rena and it may be her way of having him for now and First girl wins.**

**Well, either way, Yotsuba hasn't been putting any effort so I wouldn't hate if she loses. She and Itsuki did pull off Rena so that helps out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I won neither the series nor the characters.**

**I don't know how to write a 10 year old girl.**

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It was oddly silent when Mutsumi stepped back into the apartment. When she returned, whatever chatter was going on paused as five sisters sitting around the table turned to her.

Swallowing at their stares, she bravely took a step forward. "Sorry. I was being a bit too emotional."

"I-it's fine!" reassured Ichika. She nodded to where Mutsumi had sat a moment ago. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really..." was Mutsumi's answer as she sat once more by the table in front of them, two hands on her lap. In front of her, she noticed a cup of orange juice that hadn't previously been there.

"I wasn't sure what you wanted so I got you orange juice." Yotsuba explained, noticing Mutsumi's look. "If you want something else, I wouldn't mind anything."

Mutsumi used both hands to pick up the glass and rasied it to her mouth. She chugged down the juice, actually emptying it in one go. Putting the glass down, she sent a warm smile at the girl. "It's good!"

"Y-you're welcome." Yotsuba looked away, her heart pounding at the sight. This girl was more dangerous than Reiha-chan!

"So, Mutsumi-chan, can you tell us exactly how you arrived?" asked Itsuki as Yotsuba left to get the girl a refill.

The girl's explanation sounded like it came straight out of a novel. Apparently, that Takeda guy had become a family friend and brought along with him souvinirs whenever he came back from NASA headquarters. Normally, he just brought food he took with him on the flight back but this time he had also brought some sort of experimental machine he had been finisihing developing and wanted Fuutarou's opinion on.

Mutsumi had found herself curious and so found herself using it when the two had their backs turned.

"That was reckless of you! You shouldn't have done that." scolded Itsuki the moment Mutsumi got to her story. The young girl shrunk into her seat and Itsuki found herself feeling like the biggest heel at the girl's despondent expression.

"Hey Itsuki!" Nino rebuked her sister. "There's no need to hit her while she's down."

"Well, what's done is done." placated Ichika. She sent a gentle look to Mutsumi, hoping to cheer her up again. "You can stay with us for now."

"T-thank you. " The girl nodded at Ichika's offer before slightly shuffling in her seat, her head bowed. "I'm sorry. This was my fault and I'm placing such a burden on all of you."

"It's fine." Miku's hand twitched, wanting to pat the girl's hair down. "We're family anyways."

The girl looked up, her face blank for a moment before lighting up with glee. "Yeah, we are!"

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Itsuki tried for the third time to finish the problem set in front of her. She knew she had been stuck at the same page for the last past hour or so and, for once, it wasn't due to her lack of knowledge and scholarly incompetence.

Everyone else but her had already left their apartment, having needed to work. Itsuki, herself, hadn't found a side-job so she didn't have such obligations. Normally, she'd just leave the room and work at a cafe or a library but, today's circumstances in the form of a ten year old girl had left her stuck at the apartment.

The girl, Fuutarou's self-proclaimed daughter, was sitting with her by the table, reading through an old family photo album. Mutsumi had actually requested it and the sisters had no reason to not oblige. Itsuki was actually surprised the girl hadn't wanted to watch TV or play a game.

Was that just her thinking those things were outdated or was that Fuutarou's raising?

Putting down her pen, Itsuki took a glance to the time displaced child only to find her staring back. She jolted, almost falling on her back. Two blue eyes stared back at her, more curious than anything.

"W-what's wrong?" asked Itsuki. The younger girl didn't immediately reply, instead first scooting closer to the redhead.

"Whatcha' doin?"

"Me?" Itsuki almost out of habit moved the problem sets away from Mutsumi but instead composed herself. "Homework. Are you done looking through the albums."

"Kind of." Mutsumi shrugged, turning a page on the album. "I've seen some of these before. There are some missing but you said not to talk about the future, right?"

"I'm more surprised that you still print your pictures. Even today, most people keep them online."

"That's dad for you. He's kinda lame like that." Contrary to her scathing words, Mutsumi smiled fondly. She turned the page to reveal another picture of five identical girls who could have passed as her sisters. "It's weird how you all look alike."

"Let's just say that was the style at the time." Itsuki found herself leaning closer. She pointed to one of the girls in the picture. "That one's me."

"I know."

Itsuki blinked. "Really?"

The girl pointed at the picture. "That's you. That one is Ichika-nee. That one's Yotsuba-nee. That's Miku-nee, and Nino-nee."

The redhead stared at the picture. The girl was right. "You...how did you know?"

"I'm not sure." Mutsumi looked down at the photograph. "I just sorta do. Dad says it's because I'm a genius but it just seems obvious."

"Well, I think that's amazing!" Itsuki clapped. "Can you show do it for the other photos to?"

Mutsumi nodded and Itsuki sat herself right behind the girl so she could look at the pictures over Mutsumi's shoulder. Mutsumi then, rather naturally, settled on Itsuki's lap with the album on her own.

"Who do you think is in this one?"

"Yotsuba-nee."

"What about over here?"

"Ichika-nee."

"The one on the furthest left?"

"That's Miku-nee. I can tell from the look in her eyes."

"That's right. Then, who is the one wearing the onesie in this one?"

"It looks like Nino-nee. I think Dad said she burned this up when she saw it again."

"Then we'd better make sure she doesn't." Itsuki giggled. Indeed, the Nino today wouldn't be caught dead in that. The redhead was actually surprised how accurate the girl was.

Searching through the pages, she looked for a challenging one. Black hair tickled her chin but she found it surprisingly comfortable. Eventually, she found a single portrait shot even she had a hard time identifying.

"Okay, who is this one?"

The answer immediately popping up in her head, Mutsumi turned her head back and excitedly answered Itsuki.

"That's you, mom!"

Itsuki froze. In her arms, she felt the girl freeze from the slip-up as well. Then after a second of frozen time, an odd warmth rose up and filled Itsuki's cheeks.

"S-sorry." Mutsumu bowed her head back down. "I know you guys told me to treat you all as older sisters but it slipped out."

"I-it's fine." stuttered out Itsuki. The odd feeling in her chest was still there which made it hard for her to look at the girl in her lap."So when you said that..."

"It's because mom and I used to do this all the time." Mutsumi answered. Her small hands gripped the sides of the album in her lap. "I remember she'd sit me on her lap and we'd look through albums together while she told me stories."

That explained some things but raised more questions. Why did she react to that picture? Was it because the one in the picture was her mother and she was just used to it or was it because it was Itsuki herself? There was also if the girl was right or wrong.

Itsuki bit her lower lip, unsure of what to do. Even though she knew she shouldn't ask, such an opportunity was something that shouldn't be missed.

"Hey, Mutsumi-chan. Did you remember...who your..." Itsuki's voice got trapped in her mouth when she noticed something.

There was a wet spot on the picture below. One. Two. Then more.

In her lap, Mutsumi lightly shook, her shoulders visibly quivering. Under the dark top of her head, the air slightly glinted.

"I...I'm sor...ssorry." A voice much too young cracked in between supressed sniffles. "I-It's just...M-mom...Why can't I..."

Not hesitating, Itsuki wrapped her hands around the girl in her lap. She was so thin and small yet her shaking body shook Itsuki's core.

"It's okay." whispered Itsuki, placing her face close enough to feel the tufts on the girl's hair. "It's okay."

Itsuki closed her as she waited for the girl to calm down.

In a way, she understood what the girl was going through. She could understand the despair of forgetting who her mother was because Itsuki didn't dare let it happen to herself.

She'd visit Nakano Rena's grave every month. She tried to act just like the one in her memories. She wanted to follow her mother's path. Not because she looked up to her that much, that was only a part.

She wanted to be her so she wouldn't forget. If she could be like Nakano Rena, she'd never forget her.

And now, she found herself thinking once more, "What would Nakano Rena do?".

But then again, did Nakano Rena know such a pain?

Wasn't there another person Itsuki knew who she was sure would be more useful, more knowledgable? Instead of Nakano Rena, would would that person do?

What did Nakano Itsuki want to do?

"Hey, do you want to hear a story?"

The girl in her lap stilled for a moment at Itsuki's words. She didn't seem to be over her sudden fit but the tension on her body did seem to lessen. "W-what kind?"

A small smile grew on Itsuki's face. Even though Mutsumi's voice was shaky, there was a small ting of curiousity mixed in it. "Do you know how I met your father?"

"No." Mutsumi shook her head. Itsuki could easily picture the pout. "I've actually never heard how he met all of you. Whenever I ask, he said its a boring story and isn't worth my time."

The smile on Itsuki's face fully reached his cheeks now. She could imagine why as he had left a very rude first impression on her. Even the day after, the rest of her sisters had thought of him as a stalker.

It wasn't exactly the most romantic of first meetings that you'd want your child to hear about.

"Well, he was eating a barbecue set without the barbecue."

"Huh? I don't get it."

"It means he ordered the set but removed the barbecue."

"That's weird."

"Right? As for me, I ordered..."

Itsuki was right in the middle of her secondhand account of Fuutarou's stalking when she felt the girl in her arms feeling a bit too limp. She peeked over to see Mutsumi's eyes closed and the photo album on the floor.

She was about to carry the girl to the bedroom but soon felt one tiny hand gripping her skirt.

And that was how, instead of finishing her problem set, Itsuki spent the rest of her afternoon providing a lap pillow to the sleeping Mutsumi.

The girl snored lightly and Itsuki was thankful she didn't inherit her father's talent for snoring. She did try to get back to the problem set but soon found it impossible when she couldn't look away from the girl's peaceful face.

She hadn't realized just how tensed up the girl must have been. While earlier her face matched her father's stern and tense expression, now it was a perfect match of her sisters when they were younger.

Simpler times when they did all would try to fit their heads under their mother's lap to nap.

The youngest quint remembered her mother's expression whenever Itsuki felt too cold under the futon and asked to sleep next to her. No matter how tired she was, her mother never refused.

Was she making the same face she saw in her memories?

For the longest time, Nakano Itsuki wanted to be like her mother. Every month had her wondering, praying, if she'd be able to match the woman. And yet, as she stroked the sleeping girl's hair, this was only the second time, where she truly understood Nakano Rena's feelings.

The feeling she felt when she received words of gratitude from tutoring her sisters was the same one she felt as she watched the sleeping Mutsumi's face.

This was why Nakano Rena did the things she did and why Itsuki wanted to become like her.

An overwhelming warmth that filled her more than any amount of food could. A reason to do her best whatever the cost.

'Mom...I wonder if this was the same for you? No, I'm sure it was the same. You definitely loved all of us. This is why, right?'

It was at that point in her life that, Nakano Itsuki realized that, yes, she too wanted to become a mother one day.

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_'Okay, the vote is 3-2. We all agree not to tell Uesugi-kun about her until the end of the mock exam, okay?'_

"What's wrong?"

Nino turned from her seat to see the image of Uesugi Fuutarou holding what could only be a mock exam reviewer, numerous stickers poking out of different pages. Seeing his face only reinforced the image of the girl she had reluctantly left behind.

"What makes you think something is wrong?" she countered breezily although Fuutarou's eyes still never left the reviewer in front of him. He had even been reading in the middle of work.

For a moment, Nino had wondered why he even bothered showing up but then remembered that this kind of guy wouldn't let studying make him miss a day's pay.

"You've been distracted the whole time." Fuutarou answered succinctly. "And I know you're competent enough by now to not be this slow."

Nino's cheeks flushed red for a moment before her lips turned to a grin. "So you've been watching me?"

For the first time since they had started working, Fuutarou's eyes actually left the reviewer and turned a stony glance at her.

"Of course. It's hard not to with how much you've been sighing your whole shift. You know I don't have time for another one of your games."

Nino paused. For a moment, she did want to ask him about the time-displaced girl that had suddenly appeared before her. One that was definitely his child and...maybe hers.

While she had initially decided to use her saved up money to buy some scented candles for Fuutarou's birthday, she couldn't help but think about using it for something else.

For a girl who seemed to have only a single dress to wear.

Her normally one-track mind had suddenly found itself at an intersection and she had no idea which side to pick. Should she continue on the full track towards his heart or take a detour to help out a girl who may or may not be her daughter?

She knew they could probably scrounge up some old clothes but she wanted, no, she needed to buy dresses for that girl! She wanted to dress her up so badly!

It was then she felt a hand on her shoulder, Nino looked up to see the deadpan serious face of the person she had fallen in love with.

"Nino...I can trust you, right?"

She blinked stupidly before almost shouting her reply with a confident smile. "Of course!"

This must have been it! He was definitely asking her to leave their daughter in her hands.

"Then I'll leave it to you." Fuutarou released a sigh. If he were being honest, he had no idea how the sisters were doing and since he had barely any time from his own studying to help them out with theirs. He really did not need any drama between them.

If some long lost relative came up and stirred trouble, he seriously needed them to leave him out of it.

His eyes back on the reviewer, he turned to leave but not before asking one last question, "So? Is there a problem?"

Nino sent him a cheeky smile. "Nothing a little shopping couldn't fix."

**QqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQq**

Mutsumi woke up, her eyes bleary.

She pushed off the blanket on her and got sat up on the futon she was lying on. Like a zombie, she rose groggily with unfocused eyes. Her strait was slow as she walked on autopilot, a yawn escaping from her lips.

When she left the room, her feet brought her to the nearest source of food she could sniff out in her half-dazed state. There on the table was a single croissant on a plate. Without hesitation or thought, she took it and put it in her mouth.

She barely chewed as she devoured the piece of bread without any discrimination. It only took her a few moments to only leave nothing but a few crumbs sprinkled on her white dress.

Feeling slightly more awake, she turned to see the wide-eyed look of Nakano Miku.

"You...ate it." Miku looked, well, shocked, but there was also a tinge of excitement in her voice. "How did it taste?"

Mutsumi gave her honest opinion: A shrug.

"Do...do you want more?"

Mutsumi nodded. Anything to fill her empty tummy. She hadn't expected earlier to have been so draining. Miku was silent for a moment before crouching down eye level at the girl.

"Does your dad cook, Mutsumi-chan?"

"Not all the time. When he does, he makes curry."

Miku nodded to herself. Her mouth became a tight line as she strengthened her resolve.

"How would you like curry tonight?"

**QqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQqQq**_'_

**AN: Putting my cards on the table, I wonder if you can call my bluff? Are we getting a red fish or a smoking gun? Does the lack of fatty jokes show I'm serious or not serious enough?**

**Watching Endgame, you have to wonder if those time travel rules apply here?**


End file.
